Thursday 5 November 2015

Christmas present for your dog - a Beach Holiday with Perfect Pet Sitter!

One thing that every person who uses our services says is that they cannot bear the thought of having to put their dog into kennels. And when you have the choice of the highest level of care where where your dog lives in the house with us (in air-conditioned luxury) you can forget about ever using a kennel again. Think instead Boutique 4 Paw Doggie Hotel - where your dog is truly a VIP!

Below is a reference from the owners of one recent VIP guest. It’s included with this blogpost to give those new to Perfect Pet Sitter an insight into not just the professionalism of our service, but also the love, care, exercise and fun pets receive when staying with us as part of the family.


The dog in question is Honey  - a name which perfectly describes her. 

Not only was Honey the colour of this adorable little Spaniel - but her nature was sweet as honey also! 
Her owners adored their little girl and were worried about how she would settle being away from them. So they had barely left before I winged them texts with pictures showing Honey settling in, which helped them feel at ease.

As well as round the clock human company, Honey had ready made canine pals too. First Elly, my daughter’s welcoming, laid back and super socialised Boxer, was around. Leo was also present. Leo is a sparky Labradoodle and we’ve looked after since he was 12 weeks old (blogged about him before see here).  In no time the doggies were mingling as if they had known each other for years. 

WHO IS WHO & WERE DO THEY START?!
In fact even though each had their own bed, often they would choose to sleep together on one bed together all cuddled up – in one picture you couldn’t tell where Honey and Leo began or ended! We walk every day come sun, rain or hail -  and every single walk I send a screen shot of the GPS recorded of the walk, together with 5 -6 pictures.




HONEY ON THE LEFT, ELLY CENTRE & LEO
The thing is, we know it is a big thing to entrust the care of a pet you adore to a third party. But we are dog lovers every bit as much as you. We therefore know it is vital owners are kept aware of what is happening and why we ensure we send emails (or texts if preferred) every day.

Honey was taken out to river side walks and beach walks at Avoca or Copacabana. There she played in the edge of the waves or other times decide to chase Leo and rush after him,  her little legs going as fast as they could, barking with excitement. When not playing with the others she would swim in the Lagoons or ‘fish’ there if she saw some darting in the shallows.


Copacabana Lagoon - Honey always won swim for balls 









RECORD OF ONE BEACH WALK
Here is the reference the owners sent following Honey’s second stay in October:


Maralyn has looked after our family dog Honey on two occasion’s, once for a wedding and the other while we were holidaying for 2 weeks in Vietnam.

Maralyn was fabulous with Honey, we were more than happy with her services.   Her approach is professional and very hands on.  Honey was extremely well looked after, walked daily and often taken to the beach, her absolute favourite. 

Maralyn took the time to email us every day with updates and photos of Honey who was given lots of cuddles and responded well to her kind and gentle nature.  That extra level of professionalism and caring is invaluable.

We were able to relax on our holiday knowing that Honey was happy and well looked after.

We feel extremely fortunate to have met Maralyn for the times when we are unable to have Honey with us.  We highly recommend her services and are available to give a verbal reference if required.

Matt, Maree, Emma & Steph Webster (Queenscliff)




UPDATE!
Shortly after I posted the above blog about Honey I was contacted by a lady who had seen this website. After a few emails and with my providing her costs, Terms & Conditions and our Checklist, she sent me this email:-


Hi Maralyn

Thank you for the costing, we’re happy with the arrangements and would like to go ahead and pay you. How do we do that? Also if for some reason you don’t want to take Hula after your meet and greet in a few weeks, are we fully refunded? 


Guess what, this afternoon I met somebody who knows Honey's owners. I was speaking to a dog owner at the park and it came up in conversation when we were talking about me boarding Hula on the Central Coast. I’m happy to report that the man said Honey looked like a new dog when she returned.


Yes Honey did go back very trim and in terrific shape due to all the exercise (and of course keeping her food quantities to the ideal levels).
And to answer the question the client asked about Hula and the deposit,   a deposit is not normally until we have met the dog that is coming to stay. If a deposit were taken without meeting a doggie guest and it was felt that subsequently the dog was not suitable to stay, yes of course we would in those circumstances return the deposit.


for more info call 0426 976 006 or email 




Tuesday 25 August 2015

Losing a beloved furpal

When one of my client’s dogs – Pebbles, a very cute Jack Russell  - died in January this year, it was a heartbreaking time as anyone who has lost an adored pet knows.

Pebbles had a number of neuroendocrine tumors, but well before discovering this and how ill Pebbles was, her owner had booked me to look after her for a month over Christmas/New Year. It was during the interim she found Pebbles had cancer and treatment began.

Her owner was naturally very worried about going away for such a long period as by then Pebbles was living on borrowed time. But it was not realistic to cancel a longstanding family trip – and as I had already lived-in and looked after Pebbles on a number of previous occasions, Pebbles’ owner knew I would give her every possible care.  In what was to be my final month with Pebbles I barely left her as she had severe anxiety seperataion and got stressed if alone even for a short time. But overall, other than the fact she got tired quickly, Pebbles soldiered on and seemed almost normal.

When her owners came back I was so happy to see Pebbles greet her family - it was joyous reuinion. Pebbles still seemed well too, especially when you knew she had already out lived, by many months,  the usual life expectancy once her type of cancer was diagnosed.


One afternoon, just three weeks after their return, Pebbles took a turn for the worse. She was rushed to her specialist vet – but sadly there was no way back.

Many people with terminal pets ask how they will know when it is time to stop fighting and accept the inevitable. The fact is you always know - as did Pebbles owner. It doesn’t stop the guilt of course, but in your heart you do know when it is time to let you beloved pal move on to find permanent peace. And as awful as it was, Pebbles' owner was able to have her wish granted which was to be with her special girl and hold her at the very end.


During the last few weeks of Pebbles’ life her owner wrote me a wonderful reference which, up to now, I have not had the heart to publish. But I do so many months on as a mark of thanks to her for taking to time to write it. It is also time for me to pay my respects to one smashing little dog.

RIP dear Pebbles – you might have been small, but you had a giant heart - and those that loved you think about you still.

  
Testimonial for Maralyn Nash of Perfect Pet Sitter
  
We have a 14 year old Jack Russell named Pebbles. Last year we realised that it wasn't fair to put Pebbles in a kennel while we were away, and we trawled the Net to find a live in Petsitter. We located Maralyn Nash of Perfect Petsitter, met her and immediately warmed to her, and she pet sat for us 3 times in 2014.

Shortly after the first sit in March 2014, Pebbles was diagnosed with cancer. We were of course devastated as she is like one of our children, and up until then had seemed a fit and healthy dog who loved walking long distances and had lots of energy. After investigating a few options for her treatment, she was put on Palladia, a new cancer medication for animals and has been on these tablets for 10 months. While her energy levels are quite low these days, and she is on other medications now to stabilize her general health, she is still enjoying life, eating everything in sight, loves a swim at the beach and a sniff at the park, and even picks up her toys and tries to get us to play a game.

Maralyn looked after Pebbles for 4 weeks from December 2014. I was very anxious to leave her as her health wasn't great when we left and she had various Vet visits scheduled, lots of medications to take, and we didn't really know how she would progress while we were away.

Every day while we were overseas, Maralyn emailed me with a detailed report of how Pebbles was, what she had eaten, her bowel movements (important given the meds she is on), what the Vets had said and any changes to medications, how she seemed generally, along with photos of her. This meant so much to me as she is such an important part of our family, and it made me much less anxious knowing she had such consistent, loving care in her own home. Pebbles sleeps on our bed at home and Maralyn allowed her to still do this so she felt totally comfortable with her carer.

I cannot recommend Maralyn highly enough not only for her wonderful, loving care of Pebbles, but also for keeping in touch so diligently and making sure we knew exactly what was going on. She also took Pebbles to the Vet whenever needed and looked after our house beautifully and took care of any suppliers who were scheduled.

Maralyn is a reliable, trustworthy, compassionate, loving lady who obviously adores animals, and I would have no hesitation recommending her service to anyone who requires the best petcare available.

Yours faithfully
Jane J



Wednesday 15 July 2015

The 4 worst Dog Walker Scams – are you being duped?

At Perfect Pet Sitter we care for your pets as you would. For example, when living-in and minding our clients dogs we walk them daily. Exercise is included free because we know the importance of exercise to dogs - that means running, playing and above all, MOVING. So you never see Perfect Pet Sitter stand around when taking your dogs out.


NB  Three of us took out four dogs (not one walker to four). Me (taking pic) with Amber & Freya, Gail was responsible for Zara & Claire (not pictured) came for the fun with her own dog Elly.




We take  photos of your dog during their outing however, we’ve taken things much further by embracing  smartphone GPS technology. I use an App called STRAVA which records detailed data including:- 
  • a GPS recorded Map showing every footstep
  • the time of day your dog's exercise began
  • where we were
  • the start and finish points
  • the distance covered
  • Elapsed time (Elapsed is the total time your dog was out).


Immediately the walk ends I send my Clients who are away or on holiday a link by email or text which takes them to my Strava account. With one click they see not only photos but also the map and the comprehensive data. - click HERE to see a live version but examples are also below:



It’s easy to do – so why don't those who walk dogs for a living do this? I’m afraid the truth is that with some ‘dog walkers’, the last thing they would want is for you to see exactly how little they actually do. 

Beware of Dog Walker Scams!

I know from what I see at my local Oval there are a significant number of walkers who are not worthy of the name. And these people would hate you to find out that although you're paying for an hour your dog is lucky if it gets 30 minutes - and a lot of that spent in one place. Could your walker be one of these? How do you know what they’re up to if they give you nothing but the bill?



THE TOP 4 SCAMS:

Here is what typically happens with some of these people who simply see your dog as $.

SCAM ONE: PILE 'EM HIGH
Professional Dog Walkers stick to the legal maximum – 4 dogs to one person. But the Scammer regularly exceeds the legal maximum number of dogs: it is common to see 5 dogs per person – but some bring 6 and even 7. With so many the ‘walker’ cannot possibly keep a proper watch on each one so your dog gets left to it’s own devices for long periods.

Walkers who don’t care about breaking the law by taking too many dogs are the self same ones who ‘accidentally miss’ or ‘happen not to see’ poos dogs in their group are doing. Stray excrement is left for other people to clear up -  not something I enjoy doing but it cannot be left.

SCAM TWO: HALF TIMERS
You booked and are paying for say, an hour, and believe your dog is going to get a full 60 mins exercise, right?  WRONG - with some of these jokers you’ll be lucky your dog gets 30  minutes. How do I know? Because during my hour walks my dogs and I move the whole time (as you will see by some of my maps attached).  But after I’ve been walking a time I frequently see the Scammer Walkers arriving (often with too many dogs). When I am still there walking to continue my hour, I see these same groups leaving. They arrive after me and leave when I am still there completing my hour -  their time there?  30-35mins on average.

SCAM THREE: TOO MUCH TALKING, NOT ENOUGH WALKING
This one infuriates me above all – even while having your dog out half the time they are supposed to  - your dog may not even benefit from that short time. Why? Because Scammer Walkers meet up with their mates – there might be two or three ‘walkers’ supposedly watching 5 to 7 dogs each. But I see them standing on the spot - not doing any WALKING - but doing plenty of TALKING.

Occasionally a ball is given a cursory throw. But some of the dogs are on leads and going nowhere. The others that are loose are not being watched and often get into scrapes, or even fights, because they are not doing what they want – which is to move with their pack.

SCAM FOUR: RISK TAKING
Not insured. Every dog walker should have professional indemnity – Scammer walkers rarely do.

Summary
I am not a dog walker but do know a few good dog walking professionals who I totally trust, respect and am happy to recommend. They carry out the exercise time they contract, stick to the legal number of dogs, and they do the ‘Walkie Talkie’ (that is, keep moving with their dogs and not simply stand around) and they genuinely care for their Clients' dogs.

HOW TO ELIMINATE THE SCAMMERS & FIND A GOOD WALKER
So, lets not mince words – not all dog walkers are the same. and some are downright bad. Not only are they unprofessional, but there are some real horror stories about  ‘walkers’ who are, in reality, nothing less than Frauds. Here's my guide to finding a good walker:

Zara, a regular, at Graham Res
DON’T haggle to get a ‘bargain’ walk.  If a walker is willing to discount alarm bells should ring! It is not cheap when your dog ends up getting half the time you’re paying for joining an illegal 5+ pack. They can be standing like a statue or left running around on their own and  not being monitored because the walker is too busy chatting to know, or care, where they are. 

DO get two or more recommendations - even walkers who do not discount will not necessarily be professional in everything they do. 
Most of all, do ask the following:-
1) What is the maximum number of dogs you take out to each walker?
2) Will my dog get 60 mins (or whatever you are paying for) exercise?
3) Where do you take my dog and do you meet with other walkers?
4) Do you have full business insurance covering you to walk dogs?

FINALLY    
Unless you ask, how do you know what your walker is up to? If you want your dog to be safe and exercised properly do your homework. Be careful about booking someone based on trust - until you know for sure you can. Your dog, their welfare and their safety, are too important.


***************

I am only able to attach to this blog a minute number of the hundreds of logged walks and photos we have on record from when we exercise the dogs we live in and look after. Example Hunter - a big and active Wire Haired Pointer - took her for a special outing to Centennial Park for a terrific run in the woods there. Also pictured Freya (Lab X Boxer) playing with Toffee (RR).  Jake and Benny Border Collies. Also pictures of Elly my daughter's Boxer playing with Hunter at Bay View. No wonder the dogs I care for round the clock miss me when I go!





Lilo, Amber, Leo & Indi - a Perfect Pet Sitter Perfect pack!


Hunter & Elly at Bay View


Freya & Amber at Bantry Bay


Freya at Graham Reserve


Freya playing with Toffee 
Hunter at Centennial Park


My 'mates' when I'm at home, Jake & Benny


If you wish to be put in touch with a good dog walker feel free to call me and I will be happy to recommend. For info call me on  0422 359 278








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